Sï-Shen-Tsï Methodist Church , also called Enguang Church , is a Protestant church situated on Sishengci North Street in the city of Chengdu , Sichuan Province (formerly romanized as Sz-Chuan or Szechwan , also referred to as "West China"). It is the first church in Chengdu built by the Canadian Methodist Mission . It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Church since 1954.
14-779: Sï-Shen-Tsï Church was erected in 1894 by the Rev. Virgil Chittenden Hart [ zh ] , leader of the West China Mission of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada (MCC), which at the time was practically a chapel. The church was designed by Walter Small , a Victoria University graduate known as the "Mission's Builder". Its walls were made of solid brick. It was built in semi-native style with fine board floors, and seated three hundred persons. A year later, it
28-675: A hospital [ zh ] were subsequently built in Chengtu, which was the result of a team effort by O. L. Kilborn , V. C. Hart, G. E. Hartwell , D. W. Stevenson and others. After 1900, eight more mission stations were established in Jenshow (1905), Junghsien (1905), Penghsien (1907), Tzeliutsing (1907), Luchow (1908), Chungking (1910), Chungchow (1911) and Fowchow (1913). The CMM established its own printing house, Canadian Methodist Mission Press, in Kiatingfu in 1897. In 1903, it
42-679: A usable area of more than 1,200 square meters. The height of the church is about 18 meters. The Sichuan Theological Seminary is located next to the church. Canadian Methodist Mission The Canadian Methodist Mission ( CMM ), also known as Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada ( MCC ; Chinese : 美道會 ; pinyin : Měi Dào Huì ; Wade–Giles : Mei Tao Hui ; lit. 'Beautiful Way Society'; former romanization: Mei Dao Hwei or Meh Dao Hwei ; also known as Ying Mei Hui [Chinese: 英美會 ; pinyin: Yīng Měi Huì ; Wade–Giles: Ying Mei Hui ; lit. 'Anglo-American Society']),
56-457: The Missionary News standard since the publication of Volume 3 (1901), a size adapted to the new press. As an English newspaper "for the missionaries, about missionaries and written by the missionaries themselves", the positions of editor-in-chief and manager were almost held exclusively by Western missionaries, but local editors such as S. C. Yang (Yang Shao-chuan, a Quaker Christian) joined
70-598: The WCMN lost its overseas subscribers and fund donations, it ceased publication after Volume 45 in 1943. Leslie Gifford Kilborn spoke highly of the Missionary News at the 1942 annual meeting of the West China Border Research Society, saying The News is "a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and scientific research. It not only connects missionaries of diverse denominations in West China, but also covers
84-641: The CCC's Szechwan Synod was held on 9 February 1939. The West China Missionary News The West China Missionary News ( WCMN ) was a monthly news magazine published in Chengdu (Chengtu) from 1899 to 1943 by the West China Missions Advisory Board, and printed by Canadian Methodist Mission Press . It was aimed at Protestant missionaries working in Sichuan (or referred to as "West China"), and
98-831: The Methodists enrolled almost one half of the Protestant Christians in Szechwan . Following the merger of the Methodist Church of Canada into the United Church of Canada in 1925, the latter assumed responsibility for the CMM. At that time, the CMM was the largest mission of the newly-founded Church. By 1934, the CMM had joined the Church of Christ in China (CCC); an annual general meeting of
112-733: The assistance of her husband, Robert John Davidson , who were Quaker missionaries of the Friends' Foreign Mission Association (FFMA) . Joseph Beech , an American Methodist missionary, became assistant to the editor at the end of the year 1899; W. H. Aldis was one of the sub-editors. In 1900, with the help of some members of the FFMA, a small printing press was bought in London and brought to Sichuan by Mary Jane's brother-in-law, A. Warburton Davidson . The early volumes were large in size (8 × 10 + 1 / 2 inches), but A5 (5.8 × 8.3 inches) became
126-479: The church was erected, was comparatively poor, and had not the best reputation. But this had changed much by 1920. This change was due in part to the general growth of the city, in part to the opening of a new city gate in the near vicinity. According to Rev. Newton Ernest Bowles , Canadian missionaries believed this was in no small measure due to the general influence of the church itself. The present church building covers an area of more than 3,000 square meters, with
140-545: The editorial board later. Contributors included David Crockett Graham , George John Bond , Vyvyan Donnithorne , Thomas Torrance , Theo Sørensen , and Song Chʻeng-tsi , just to name a few. Although principally aimed at missionaries in West China, the WCMN had subscription services for worldwide readers in Los Angeles . Its highest circulation was around 450. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945),
154-559: Was a Canadian Methodist Christian missionary society mostly working in the province of Szechwan , which was also referred to as "West China." The Canadian Methodist Mission was founded by Virgil C. Hart [ zh ] . In February 1892, eight members of the mission society led by Hart reached Szechwan. Work began in Chengtu and, two years later, in Kiatingfu , with the establishment of mission stations in both cities. A church and
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#1732851598884168-489: Was destroyed by the anti-religious turmoil (Chengdu Mission Case) in 1895. It was rebuilt the following year. In 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion broke out, the church was destroyed again and rebuilt again. It was doubled in size in 1911. The building cost $ 1,000 in gold, a sum gifted by Jairus Hart, Esq. , of Halifax, N.S. At that time, the situation was not considered particularly good. The Jinjiang District , in where
182-433: Was moved to the capital city of Chengtu. This press was responsible for the printing of The West China Missionary News (1899–1943) and Journal of the West China Border Research Society (1922–1945). The former was the first and the longest running English newspaper in the province of Szechwan. The CMM was one of the four mission societies responsible for the creation of West China Union University in 1910. By 1922,
196-519: Was the first and longest-running English-language newspaper in that province. The establishment of The West China Missionary News was one of the results of a Protestant conference held at Chongqing (Chungking) in January 1899. The periodical was started as a platform of communication among various missionary workers. It came to light in February 1899, under the editorship of Mary Jane Davidson , with
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